Corn-sheller



(No Model.) 4 Sheets Sh eet 1.

W. 0 WELL.

COR ELLER. No. 595.765. Patented Dec. 21, 189-7.

(No M05511 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W. GOLWELL. CORN SHELLER.

No. 595.755. Patented 1m..- 21, 1897.

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515 55 f'pim fiat/ MW BYMMW' i 4 Sheets Sheet 3.

(N0 Model.)

W. COLWELL.

CORN SHELLER.

No. 595,765. Patented Dec. 21,1897.

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-(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet4.

W. COLWELL. 001m SHELLER.

No. 595,7 5. Patented Dec. 21, 1897.

UNITED STATES PATENT Qrricn.

WILLIAM COLWELL, OF CHILLICOTHE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE JOLIET MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF JOLIET, ILLINOIS.

CORN-SHELLER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 595,765, dated December 21, 1897.

' Application med February 24,1896. Serial No. 580,487. (to model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM OOLWELL, a citizen of the United States,residing in Chillicothe,in the county of Peoria and State of Illinois,have invented a new and useful Im provement in Corn-Shellers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in corn-shellers of the kind known as cylindershellers.

The invention enables me to accomplish a very much larger amount of work than is possible with the best shellers heretofore on the market, the increase being some twenty to r 5 twenty-five per cent, and while it should be classed as a cylinder-machine it nevertheless differs from other cylinder-machines in important respects.

In my improved machine the part corre- 2o sponding to the cylinder of the old machinesis composed of a series of hubs or rings mounted side by side upon a common shaft, and each hub is armed with two wings or heaters projecting outwardly from its opposite sides.

2 5 These wings or heaters are considerably longer in a radial direction than are the studs or ribs previously employed with the drum-cylinders, and I prefer that they should be about two and a quarter inches in length, measuring 0 from the outer surface of the hub to the tip of the beater, as I find excellent results to attend the use of heaters of that radial length. The heaters, or a portion ofthem, are arranged so they may serve, in addition to their 3 5 primary function of efiecting, either directly or indirectly, the shelling of the corn, the further function of feeding the corn along the series of heaters. This arrangement preferably consists in locating the heaters at the initial or feeding end of the shelling mechanism in spiral lines, whereby they are adapted to act as force-feeding devices and prevent any accumulation of ears at the entrance to the shelling mechanism. The individual 5 heaters thus arranged spirally are also .preferably made to stand with their fiat sides inclined to the axial line of the hubs, so that when they strike an ear they will naturally force that car toward the rear end of the shelling mechanism, as well as in a circular direction corresponding to the rotary movement of thebeater itself. One or more pairs of the heaters at the rear or discharge end of the series are also similarly arranged or inclined, so they may force the denuded ears out from the inclosing cage surrounding the revolving heaters. The intermediate series of beaters that is, those between the feedingbeaters at the receiving end and the discharging-heaters at the discharging end-are preferably arranged with their flat sides parallel with the axis of the heaters, so that such heaters may perform their primary function of shelling perfectly without any such urging of the ears toward the discharge as will prevent their being perfectly shelled.

In combination with the series of revolving winged hubs above described is a casing or cage surrounding the series of hubs. This casing is'composed of closed ends and a lon- 7o gitudinal grating consisting of wires or rods arranged in parallel positions lengthwise of the grating and at short distancesapart and circular supporting bars having openings through which the rods or wires are passed, the casing being thus adapted to permit the passage through it of the shelled corn, and the rods being also adapted to assist in stripping the'ears as the latter are rolled or moved over them. The casing is provided with a large feed-opening atone end and a comparatively small discharge-opening at the other end, and the latter is regulable, so that the ears may be prevented from issuing before they are entirely stripped of kernels. The regulable discharge also enables the operator to change the discharge-opening to answer the demands of the particular body of corn being shelled, the adjustment being determined by circumstances, such as the size of the ears or their dampness, dryness, due.

The invention further relates to other de-- tails of construction of the machine, which are fully set forth in the description given below.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section. Figs. 3 and 4: are cross vertical sections on the lines 3 3 and 4 4, respectively, of Fig. 2; and Fig. 5 is a horizontal section through 'dicated by D the shelling devices. Fig. 6 is a plan of the main shaking-shoe, and Fig. 7 is an enlarged section of the shelling devices.

Myimproved sheller is adapted to be mounted upon wheels, so that it can be readily moved about as desired, and I have shown it in Fig. 1 as mounted upon wheels A A.

The corn is fed to the machine by the elevator B, which may contain a force-feed chain of any ordinary construction and be operated by the shaft B. Said elevator delivers the corn to a hopper (J, from which it falls directly into the shelling mechanism. The latter consists, as already stated, of a series of wide wings or hubs D, mounted upon a shaft D, driven by the pulley D Said shaft is arranged horizontally and longitudinally, being supported by bearings D and D The hubs D are each provided with two wings or beaters projecting some two and a quarter inches beyond the periphery of the hubs. The wings or heaters of the first four or five hubs at the feed end are arranged diagonally or inclined relative to the axis, so that they may urge the corn along toward the other end of the shelling mechanism. I also prefer to arrange these inclined beaters or stirrers in fourspiral lines, which is done by placing the heaters alternately in advance of one another, the several beaters being thus enabled. to carry forward or continue the feeding action of the previous beaters. The heaters arranged diagonally and spirally in this manner are in- The boaters or stirrers D of the next few hubs are arranged in alternate order directly in line with one another and parallel with the axis, as plainly seen at Fig. 2, thus forming four rows of detached wide heaters, and the heaters or stirrers of the last hub are placed diagonally, as indicated at D so that they mayserve to throw out the shelled ears from the cage.

The cage which surrounds the major portion of the rotating heaters or stirrers consists of closed ends and a series of longitudinal rods D arranged parallel to each other and at distances apart sufiicient to permit the free passage of the shelled corn between them, and they are supported in circular bars D These rods encircle the heaters with the exception of the top, which is formed for a portion of the length of the cover D the remainder of the length being covered by the hopper C.

I prefer to make the heaters or stirrers about nine inches from tip to tip and the surrounding cage about fifteen inches in diameter, so that a comparatively large space will be left between the tips of the beaters or stirrers and the inside of the cage, through which the corn may feed freely and in which the ears may be forced to rub against each other and against the rods of the cage, as already described. This open space should average about three inches in diametrical directions along the top and two inches at the bottom, the shaft D being set below the center of the casing, as plainly shown in the enlarged section, Fig. 7-. The action upon the corn caused by the employment of this large shelling-space is different from that taking place in machines where the entire space is contracted to the size or under the size of the ear and in which the ears are shelled by being rolled between the rotating cylinder and the surrounding case. In my invention the ears whenever they get into the lower part of the casin g are brought within range of the heaters, so that they are sure to receive numerous blows therefrom and be urged against the casing. They are stripped of their corn by the combined action of the beaters and casing and by the rubbing one against another brought about by' the beaters. The length of the heaters or stirrers is about two and one-quarter inches and is much greater than the teeth ordinarily employed in the shelling part of the machines, so that they are better adapted to strike blows than are the short studs upon ordinary cylinders and also better adapted to keep the body of ears in the shelling-space in a constant state of agitation.

At the rear end of the cage is a dischargeopening D located below the beater-shaft and provided with an adjustable gate or regulating device D whereby the size of the opening may be increased or reduced, as oocasion requires. If the ears display any tendency to leave the cage before the corn is all shelled from them, they can be retained longer in the cage and until the corn is all shelled off by simply reducing the size of the opening, and at the same time any clogging or undue accumulation of cars in the cage may be obviated by making the opening D larger.

The ears pass from the opening D onto a shoe E, through which the loose kernels of corn drop onto an inclined platform E, attached to the shoe, and are by it conducted into a lower shoe F, located directly under the cage and receiving the main current of the shelled corn therefrom. These shoes E and F are both agitated and are pivoted to the opposite ends of fourarms Gr, the shoe E having an extended frame E for this purpose. One pair of arms Gis mounted upon a shaft G, extending across the machine, and this shaft is actuated so as to swing the arms at both sides of the shoes by means of a crank and pitman G G, and the pitman is actuated by an eccentric, the strap or band whereof is shown at G upon the shaft G driven by a chain G receiving power from a cross-shat t G driven by gears from shaft D.

From the shoe F the corn drops onto platform H and is discharged into the trough II. A fan J delivers a blast through the falling corn as it drops into shoe F and from said shoe onto the platform H and drives out the chaff and dust therefrom. The upper portion of the case of the fan is extended some distance under the shelling-cage, as shown, so

as to direct the air horizontally across the shoe F, and in order that the current may be kept away from the shoe E and its platform E, I place in front of those parts the deflector or guard K, the construction of which will he understood from Figs. 2, 3, and 6. It is adapted to deflect most of the fan-blast which strikes it downward, and as will be understood from what has already been said it prevents any of the blast from reaching the under surface of the shoe E.

The cohs when discharged. from the shoe E fall into the hopper L at the lower end of the cob-stacker L and are by the latter carried away by the machine. The grain falling into the trough H may be conducted by the conveyer in said trough to the elevator M and by the latter be elevated for loading in wagons. Power may be given to the machine either through the pulleyD already mentioned, or through the pulley 0 upon the transverse shaft P, which gears with shaft D, as plainly shown.

The feed-hopper opening above the heaters is very large, as shown, being about the width of the casing in one direction and over a third of the length of the casing in the other direction, so that the ears are freely admitted, and any tendency they may display to arch or bridge over and lodge at the entrance is ob viated. Itis difficult to show the location of the beater-shaft relative to the casing in drawings made upon so small a scale as that of the main figures, and hence I have added an enlarged section in Fig. 7 to bring out this feature clearly.

I claim- 1. The corn-sheller having shelling devices operating on the principle of shelling the corn by subjecting the ears of corn to arapid heating, tumbling and stirring action in a confining-chamber in which the corn-ears are loose and free to he knocked, stirred and tumbled in different directions, and comprising in combination a cylindrical casing or grating having a large unobstructed chamber or interior to receive and confine the corn-ears in a loose condition and free to be knocked, stirred and tumbled in different directions by action of rapidly-revolving heaters, and a rapidly-r0- tating shaft extending centrally inand lengthwise of said casing and provided with a series of radial arms or heaters located at intervals longitudinally along said shaft and at intervals radially about said shaft with wide open spaces between them longitudinally and radially of the shaft to permit the corn-ears to pass in different directions between contiguous heaters longitudinally or radially, the

open space between the shaft and said casing or grating being large and unobstructed to permit the corn-ears to be freely knocked, stirred and tumbled in different directions by action of said heaters, whereby the corn is rapidly and perfectly shelled without mutilation of the kernels or grains, said heaters or arms being in a number of separate pieces from said shaft and having a series of hubs surrounding the shaft to secure the same thereto, substantially as specified.

- 2. The corn-sheller having shelling devices operating on the principle of shelling the corn by subjecting the ears of corn to a rapid heating, tumbling and stirring action in a confining-chamber in which the corn-ears are loose and free to be knocked, stirred and tumbled in different directions, and comprising in com bination a casing or grating having a large unobstructed chamber or interior to receive and confine the corn-ears in a loose condition and free to he knocked, stirred and tumbled in different directions by action of rapidly-revolving heaters, and a rapidly-rotating shaft extending centrally in and lengthwise of said casing and provided with a series of radial arms or heaters located at intervals longitudinally along said shaft and at intervals radially about said shaft with wide open spaces between them longitudinally and radially of the shaft to permit the corn-ears to pass in difierent directions between contiguous heaters longitudinally or radially, the open space between the shaft and said casing or grating being large and unobstructed to permit the corn-ears to be freely knocked, stirred and tumbled in different directions by action of said heaters, whereby the corn is rapidly and perfectly shelled without mutilation of the kernels or grains, a portion of said heaters at the feeding end of said casing or grating having their faces inclined to the shaft, and the heaters at the middle portions of said casing or grating having their faces parallel to the shaft, substantially as specified.

The corn-sheller having shelling devices operating on the principle of shelling the corn by subjecting the ears of corn to a rapid heating, tumbling and stirring action in a confining-chamber in which the corn-ears are loose and free to be knocked, stirred and tumbled in different directions,and comprising in combination a casing or grating having a large unobstructed chamber or interior to receive and confine the corn-ears in a loose condition and free to he knocked, stirred and tumbled in different directions by action of rapidlyrevolving heaters, and a rapidly-rotating shaft extending centrally in and lengthwise of said casing and provided with a series of radial arms or heaters located at intervals longitudinally along said shaft and at intervals radially about said shaft with wide open spaces between them longitudinally and radially of the shaft to permit the corn-ears to pass in different directions between contiguous heaters longitudinally or radially, the open space between the shaft and said casing or grating being large and unobstructed to permit the corn-ears to be freely knocked, stirred and tumbled in different directions by action of said heaters, and the open space or distance between the outer ends of said heaters and said surrounding casing or grating being large and sufficient to permit corn-ears to pass between the same, whereby the corn is rapidly and perfectly shelled without mutilation of the kernels or grains, substantially as specified.

4. The corn-sheller having shelling devices operating on the principle of shelling the corn by subjecting the ears of corn to a rapid beating, tumbling and stirring action in a confining-chamber in which the corn-ears are loose and free to be knocked, stirred and tumbled in difierent directions, and comprising in combination a cylindrical casing or grating having a large unobstructed chamber or interior to receive and confine the corn-ears in a loose condition and free to be knocked, stirred and tumbled in different directions by action of rapidly-revolving heaters, and a rapidly-rotating shaft extending centrally in and lengthwise of said casing and provided with a series of radial arms or heaters located at intervals longitudinally along said shaft and at intervals radially about said shaft with wide open spaces between them longitudinally and radially of the shaft to permit the corn-ears to pass in different directions between contiguous beaters longitudinally or radially, the open space between the shaft and said casing or grating being large and unobstructed to permit the corn-ears to be freely knocked, stirred and tumbled in different directions by action of said beaters, whereby the corn is rapidly and perfectly shelled without mutilation of the kernels or grains, said surrounding casing or grating having an opening at its end for the discharge of the cobs, and one pair of said heaters adjacent to said opening having their faces at an angle to said shaft to aid in discharging or forcing the coins through said opening, substantially as specified.

5. The corn-sheller having shelling devices operating on the principle of shelling the corn by subjecting the ears of corn to a rapid heating, tumbling and stirring action in a confining-chamber in which the corn-ears are loose and free to be knocked, stirred and tumbled in different directions, and comprising in combination a casing orgratinghaving a large unobstructed chamber or interior to receive and confine the corn-ears in a loose condition and free to be knocked, stirred and tumbled in different directions by action of rapidly-- revolving beaters,and a rapidly-rotatin g shaft extending centrally in and lengthwise of said casing and provided with a series of radial arms orbeaterslocated at intervals longitudinally along said shaft and at intervals radially about said shaft with wide open spaces between them longitudially and radially of the shaft to permit the corn-ears to pass in different directions between contiguous heaters longitudinally or radially, the open space between the shaft and said casing or grating bein glarge and unobstructed to permit the cornears to be freely knocked, stirred and tumbled in different directions by action of said heaters, whereby the corn is rapidly and perfectly shelled without mutilation of the kernels or grains, a portion of said beaters at the feeding ends of said casing or grating having their faces inclined to the shaft, and the beaters at the middle portions of said casing or grating having their faces parallel to the shaft, said surrounding casing or grating having an opening at its end for the discharge of the cobs, and one pair of said heaters adjacent to said opening having their faces at an angle to said shaft to aid in discharging or forcing the cobs through said opening, substantially as specified.

XVILLIAM COLWELL. Witnesses:

H. M. llIUNDAY, EDW. S. EVARTS. 

